The recently launched M4 Pro Mac mini and the new M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro models introduce Thunderbolt 5 ports for the first time. Thunderbolt 5 significantly enhances performance with bi-directional transfer speeds of up to 80Gb/s, effectively doubling the speeds of Thunderbolt 4. Additionally, it can support high-resolution displays through a 120Gb/s bandwidth mode.
Despite these advancements, the range of Thunderbolt 5 accessories is still in its early stages. OWC has unveiled its inaugural Thunderbolt 5 dock today, retailing at $189.
This dock becomes the second Thunderbolt 5 accessory available in the market, following the Kensington SD5000T5 docking station that was introduced last month. The Kensington model includes multiple Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, along with legacy interfaces like USB-A and an SD card reader.
In contrast, the OWC dock is designed to provide a more straightforward solution by converting a single Thunderbolt 5 port on your Mac into three downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports and one USB-A port. It enables users to connect their devices to up to three 8K displays (utilizing DisplayStream Compression) simply by using one cable.
Moreover, the dock allows for connection to high-speed external storage and additional Thunderbolt 5 accessories as they become available. It can also deliver up to 140 watts of power over the Thunderbolt 5 cable, enabling rapid charging of connected MacBook Pro devices.
Thunderbolt 5 remains fully compatible with previous versions, ensuring that you won’t encounter problems with older devices. Any Thunderbolt or USB device using a USB-C cable can connect without issues, although they will function at the slower speeds associated with earlier standards.
The OWC dock is now available for pre-order, with the first units expected to ship in December.
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